USW@Work - National College Players Association - United ...

International Vice PresidentTom Conway addresses theopening bargaining sessionwith U.S. Steel.For the first time in decades, our unionis beginning negotiations with thetop domestic integrated steel manufacturersArcelorMittal and U.S. Steelwhile business is booming and profitssoaring. After years of sacrifice and bargainingthrough bankruptcies and industryconsolidation, our members are poised totake advantage of these market conditions.During a series of membership meetingsand plant tours conducted over thewinter to prepare for these negotiations,our bargaining committees identifiedareas of concern that impact nearly all ofour members and retirees and will formthe foundation for our proposals as wemove forward.Economic securityInternational President Leo W. Gerardoften reminds the companies of the successfulfights for tariffs on imported steeland frequently tells our members, “If notfor the USW, there would be no steelindustry in the U.S. and Canada. Theindustry is not capable of defending itselfwithout us.”After years of hard work and sacrifice,our members have earned a fair andequitable wage increase, improvementsto health care, sickness and accidentbenefits, paid time off and protectionsagainst inflation.Working conditionsA new basic steel pattern agreementemerged following 35 steel company14 summer 2008 • USW@Workbankruptcies. It was instrumental inrestructuring the industry. But what was,in many mines and mills, a good faitheffort to streamline production was takenadvantage of by plant bosses who misinterpretedthe contract language. Seniorityrights were violated and hordes of outsidecontractors came into our workplacesto do jobs that rightfully belonged toour members.“We won’t get a contract unless theseissues are addressed to our satisfaction,”said International Vice President TomConway, who leads the bargaining teamwith U.S. Steel.Employment securityMore than ever before, our membersdeserve to know that their jobs are safe.That means our union needs a moremeaningful role in determining capitalinvestment, technological improvementsand market strategies.“Real employment security comes bymaintaining our competitiveness withmodern new equipment and processes,”said District 1 Director Dave McCall, theUSW’s lead negotiator with ArcelorMittal.“Our union must have a say in how we runthe business to ensure we have protectionfor our long-term future.”Employment security also meanssafety on the job, freedom from healthhazards, the right to work reasonableschedules with a prohibition againstforced overtime and guarantees for ourrights to have training.Retirement securityNo group in our union felt the burn ofsteel bankruptcies worse than retirees.Thousands of our retired brothers andsisters were stripped of their health carebenefits by the federal bankruptcy courts,and many lost a significant portion oftheir pensions when the Pension BenefitGuaranty Corporation (PBGC), a governmentagency that insures defined benefitretirement plans, took over their bankruptemployer’s pension plans.In this round of negotiations, we mustcontinue fighting for the security of ourmembers’ retirements. Our goals alsoinclude repairing broken pension service,maintaining retiree health care, increasingour pensions and providing enhancementsfor future retirees.Local issuesThe first few weeks of bargaining arebeing devoted to workplace issues. Fartoo many disputes have gone into thegrievance procedure, clogging arbitrationdockets, leaving workers waiting to havetheir cases heard.Frustration is mounting in manyplants, leading the USW to believe thatmanagement’s design is to stifle workers’rights and run the workplace in aroughshod manner. USW’s top negotiatorshave made it clear to corporate managementthat the situation is intolerableand will be corrected before a newcontract is settled.Photo by Tom Fitzpatrick/VPI